Electrical boxes provide a housing for electrical components such as outlets and switches when installed in the walls, ceilings or floors of buildings. Electrical boxes are typically secured to a support structure such as a wall stud and aligned with an opening in a covering material, such as wall board or siding. Boxes may be employed to house electrical components both in and out of doors.
Outdoor applications typically utilize electrical boxes which can resist contamination, such as water and dirt, created by exposure to the elements. Indoor applications such as in a bathroom or industrial setting may also subject an installed electrical component to contamination from cleaning fluid or other debris. Typical outlet boxes include a housing which holds the electrical component and a bracket having a flange which abuts the front face of the wall. In order to satisfy the requirements of such applications, electrical boxes also typically include a cover to shield the electrical components from contamination. Electrical box covers of the prior art may include openings therein to permit cords to extend there through, thereby allowing an electrical outlet to be used even when the cover is closed.
One such while-in-use electrical box is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,988,832. This electrical box includes a recess configuration such that the electrical component is recessed from the front surface of the wall in which it is installed. The electrical box includes a housing attachable to a wall stud and a bracket securable thereto. The bracket has a flange which abuts against a wall surface and a base which aligns with the front face of an electrical component. Although the recess configuration provides protection to the electrical component, the configuration does not accommodate more than one outlet. More importantly, the configuration disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,988,832 does not accommodate either a horizontally or a vertically aligned receptacle therein without having to reorient the box or cover.
Other outlet covers are designed to protect an electrical device, but do not include an electrical box. Instead, the box which houses the electrical outlet is already attached to a stud, for example, and the cover is designed to be applied around the outlet. One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,135. This electrical box includes a base plate, an insert to the base plate and a cover that hingedly attaches to the base plate. The base plate has an aperture of sufficient size to accommodate an electrical outlet in different orientations. The insert fits within the aperture of the base plate and is capable of encompassing the face of an electrical device. However, as stated above, this device is not a unitary device that includes an electrical box and, therefore, requires a user to separately purchase and attach the electrical box.
Accordingly, a need exists for a unitary recessed box and cover that, once installed, can accommodate either a horizontally or a vertically aligned receptacle therein in a single or double gang formation without having to reorient the box or cover.